28 THE QUEENS COURIER • DECEMBER 27, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Year In Review • NOVEMBER COMPILED BY EMILY DAVENPORT
State Senator Jose Peralta suddenly dies
State Senator Jose Peralta, who represented northwest Queens in the Assembly
and State Senate over the last 16 years, passed away suddenly on Nov. 21 at the
age of 47-years-old. Peralta died while undergoing treatment at Elmhurst Hospital.
Initial reports stated that he died of a heart attack, however it was later clarifi ed that
he had been suff ering from an infection that started days earlier. Doctors had speculated
that Senator Peralta may have suff ered from a form of meningitis. Peralta
was laid to rest on Nov. 27 following a funeral service at St. Joan of Arc Church in
Jackson Heights. Th ose in attendance at the funeral remembered Peralta as a fi ghter
for immigrants and the LGBTQ community. He is survived by his wife, Evelyn, and
sons Matthew and Myles.
Blue wave election in Queens
Queens was hit with a blue wave during the midterm elections on Nov. 6. In the fourway
race for the 11th State Senate District seat, Democratic nominee John Liu won
against incumbent Tony Avella, Vickie Paladino and Scott Minching. Catalina Cruz
was the only major party candidate running in the 39th Assembly District and became
the fi rst DREAMer to be elected to NY State Assembly. Jessica Ramos claimed victory
of the 13th Senatorial District seat and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest
woman to ever be elected to Congress winning the 14th Congressional District.
Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul were re-elected as governor and lieutenant governor,
respectively. Public Advocate Letitia James made history as the fi rst African-
American woman elected as New York State attorney general. Other local politicians
that were re-elected were Grace Meng, Carolyn Maloney, Joe Addabbo, Tom Suozzi,
Stacey Pheff er Amato, Brian Barnwell, Ron Kim, Clyde Vanel and Andrew Hevesi.
Wild robbery spree in
Woodside and Astoria
An uncle and nephew team were arrested for their alleged roles in a Queens stickup
spree early during which a Woodside pharmacy worker was shot in the head
and critically injured. Scott Brack, 50, and Elgin Brack, 22, were arraigned on federal
robbery charges. On Nov. 26, Elgin Brack allegedly shot a 49-year-old employee
behind the counter of the Duane Reade pharmacy located at 60-02 Roosevelt Ave.
in Woodside. Sources say that Elgin got into an argument with the employee, then
shot him in the head and hand before fl eeing empty-handed. Th e victim was hospitalized
at Elmhurst Hospital in critical but stable condition. Sources go on to say that
Scott Brack then drove Elgin Brack to three other locations over the next two hours,
including a 7-Eleven convenience store about a half-hour aft er the Duane Reade
shooting; a Rite Aid pharmacy in Astoria and a Rite Aid pharmacy in St. Albans. In
each instance, Elgin Brack allegedly posed as a customer making a purchase, then
displayed a fi rearm at a cashier and demanded money.
Amazon announces second
headquarters in Long Island City
Amazon offi cially announced it would split the location of its second headquarter
between Long Island City and Arlington, Virginia, on Nov. 13. Th e company will invest
$5 billion between the two and create more than 25,000 jobs at each location. Amazon
and Plaxall, the family-owned plastic company that has been headquartered in Long
Island City for more than 70 years, is partnering together to develop an HQ2 campus
on a nearly 14-acre piece of land surrounding Anable Basin. Amazon also said it will
receive performance-based direct incentives of $1.525 billion based on the company
creating 25,000 jobs in Long Island City. Th e announcement was met with lots of criticism
from local lawmakers and the community. Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer and
Senator Michael Gianaris released a joint statement opposing the decision, and held a
rally on Nov. 14 to voice their opposition to the decision. Th ose against the decision rallied
again in Long Island City and vowed to never stop fi ghting against Amazon’s HQ2
coming to the neighborhood.
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